Natrang, the Jammu theatre group better known to local audiences for its free Sunday plays, has taken a big production to Katra for the Navratra Festival: "Mata Ki Kahani", a musical theatre piece on the legend of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi.
The essentials
- When: daily from 12 October 2026, at 4 pm and 6 pm. The end date of the run has not been stated.
- Where: the auditorium of the Spiritual Growth Centre, Katra.
- Organised by: the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board with the J&K Tourism Department, as part of Navratra Festival-2026; Natrang Jammu stages the shows.
- Tickets: price not announced.
Who is behind it
Padma Shri Balwant Thakur wrote and directed it. Neeraj Kant contributed to the direction, Sunny Mujoo led the choreography and Shivam Singh designed the lights. The cast is about 35 performers, among them Neeraj Kant, Kananpreet Kaur, Arya Sharma, Khushboo Pandita and Vani Thakur.
Thakur says the production is the "first-ever theatre production based on the legend of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi" and that the shows are for the benefit of devotees visiting the shrine. We have not independently checked the "first-ever" claim.
Planning the trip
Katra is about 50 km from Jammu, and the festival runs 11 to 19 October. Our weekend checklist covers the rest of the programme. Two shows a day make it possible to catch one on the way back to Jammu.
%2Fgreater-kashmir%2Fmedia%2Fmedia_files%2F2026%2F06%2F27%2Fgmc-jammu-2026-06-27-05-46-24.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
